


Crumpled Like Paper

by Rangerskirt



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And Steve Hugs Him, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Canon Compliant, Drabble, Everyone Needs A Hug, Friendship, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, Infinity War spoilers, Post Infinity War, Spoilers, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, can be read as either, mentioned character deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 18:04:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerskirt/pseuds/Rangerskirt
Summary: ***INFINITY WAR SPOILERS***(I had so many feeling about the movie I couldn't stop myself from writing something to help myself cope)As the portal to another planet opened before him Steven heard a distinct and distressed voice cry out, rushing through the doorway without hesitation he called loudly, "Tony!!"-----Post-Infinity Wars(Spoiler Warning): Wong is gathering up the remaining forces and he enlists Steve's help to pick Tony up from the faraway battlefield. Steve finds his once friend in midst of a panic attack and in dire need of something concrete to hold onto. (Aka Wong gets Steve to pick up Tony and bring him back to Earth)





	Crumpled Like Paper

**Author's Note:**

> I...I have so many feelings about this movie, it was so good but so hard on my heart. I don't think I've ever stared so intently at an entire 2.5 hour movie in my lifetime, nor have I ever come out of such a good movie feeling sick and lost my appetite because I'm processing so much.

Steve knelt in the pile of ashes that had once looked like Bucky Barnes, his best friend and the man he had given up his freedom to keep safe and alive. Now gone with nothing he could have done to save him, Bucky and so many others just crumbled to ash in a matter of seconds.

The others left were no better than he was, all stunned with their loved ones fading away into the wind without a chance to say goodbyes or figure out what was happening. The area was silent, so quiet that Steven could have heard a pin drop onto the dirt ground.

His heart clenched inside of his chest, it all happened so fast that it was hard to process. One minute everyone there fighting together, the next Thanos was gone and so were so many people. Steve could feel his eyes beginning to burn, brimming with tears and a choked noise he swallowed back down his throat.

A swirling portal opened not ten feet away from him and out from it stepped an Asian man that when Steven managed to raise his head to meet his gaze knew he must be a friend, not foe. Simply from the distressed look on the other's face, similar to his own, the face of someone who had just lost everything.

Clenching his fist tightly against his right leg to prevent it from shaking any further Steve pushed himself up weakly to his feet. "Who are you?" it wasn't the kindest tone but given everything that had happened Steve didn't think the other man would blame him too much.

"My name is Wong, I can explain more soon but I need you to come with me first Captain. There's someone essential we must retrieve and I need you to get him for me." Wong put on a brave face and a strong voice, pain in his heart but duty and that same pain drove him on. When Steve looked at him a bit suspiciously he added, "I'm attempting to gather everyone possible together, ones who are capable of fighting so that maybe we can fix....all of this..." he looked around at the many piles of ashes that strewn about the forest area.

Wiping a single tear that escaped from his cheek with the back of his dirty hand Steve gave a curt nod and stepped forward, "I'll help in any way I can. Who are we going to retrieve?"

Pausing Wong clenched his chin and said, "I think you already know that Captain." How this man knew him Steve wasn't sure but for now he'd chalk it up to the magic and the fact that even after several years he was still a wanted criminal by the U.S government.

"Just one question before we do this, how do you know well...where I am, where this other person is? Where's the source of your knowledge?" Steve asked sternly.

"I was sent a message from a...a co-worker I suppose you'd say, he told me if this happened that I must gather forces and he told me who I would need and where I could find them." Wong explained with ease, no secrets to keep. "I will open the portal but remain on this side, it is far away so I must concentrate to keep it open."

With a wave of his hands like he had done many times Wong opened a new portal and Steven immediately heard a familiar voice scream in a pain he'd never known before.

"Peter! _Peter no_!" distressed and choked out, Steve didn't hesitate to rush through the portal with his own call, "Tony!"

This other planet felt like a different universe, rubble and previous destruction laid everywhere, fire and ash coating surfaces everywhere. His feet didn't stop moving, he jumped over a hunk of metal shrapnel in his path with urgency before skidding to a stop and staring. Staring at the back of Tony's head, the friend he hadn't seen or spoken to in years but had still carried his flip phone charged all that time in hopes Tony might call.

His strong friend, and yes he still considered Tony Stark to be that, was on his knees before a pile of ash as his shoulders shook but not with sobs, his breathing was hard and he was sucking in breathes like no tomorrow. Panic attack. He had to deal with this situation delicately then.

Catching breath for a moment Tony clenched a hand into a fist and hit it into the ground with a hard force, "Dammit Peter I told you not to come!" Chances are that Peter would have ashed away even on Earth but Tony blamed himself and wasn't in the best headspace at the moment.

"Tony." Steve called in a soft tone and slowly approached, purposefully making a little noise with each step to alert the billionaire how close he was. Extending a hand his fingers only barely touched Tony's shoulders before they were hit away. "Don't touch me!" the other man sneered, "I don't know how you got here but don't touch me!"

Steve was sure he was the last person Tony wanted to be here, to see him like this, to try to comfort him and he couldn't blame the man. But he was here and determined to do just that for the man he had so much respect for. Moving to kneel on a single knee next to Tony he looked down at the ash the other was staring at so intently, the ash also coated Tony's entire front and his hands that the other was clenching and pushing into his thighs as he sat there. He had been holding Peter when the kid burst into ashes, he'd felt his life leave the universe and his heart stop beating.

Trying again Steve slowly touched first his fingertips to the other's shoulder, and when they weren't shoved away this time he slid his hand over painfully slowly across Tony's back until Steve had a first and protective arm around the genius' shoulders. "I know...I know, I saw it all happen to....s-so many of us just gone, like nothing. I know it hurts but we need to go Tony."

This time he didn't get an answer, the brunette didn't even look at him but simply shook his head as he tried to control his breathing. A call from behind them caught Steve's ear, it was Wong. "Captain! The portal is getting harder to keep open please hurry up! Right now!"

Once more gently Steve tried, "Tony we have to go now or we won't get back home."

"He didn't get to go home..." was the mutter Steve heard under Tony's breath, so he stood and frowned deeply.

"I'm sorry about this Tony, but we have to leave." Bending at the waist he slung his arms around Tony's waist and began pulling the man to his feet, the other fought him tooth and nail scrambling and trying to pull at his hands but was no match for the super soldier. "Get the hell off of me Rogers!"

He fought the whole way to the point where Steve at one point tightened his hold around Tony's waist and lifted him just a few inches off of the ground and walked backward out of the portal, once it was closed he let Tony fall carefully back to his feet. Back in Wakanda. "I have others to gather, I promise to be in touch." Wong said in a tired tone and spared a glance to the only other being to have come out of the portal before the men, a young alien looking blue woman with metal attachments who had taken a seat on a nearby log with the bipedal raccoon.

Tony stood, glowering and glaring at where the portal closed cutting him off from where he'd wanted to be. "Tony." this time the mention of his name caught his attention and he turned towards Steve. Meeting his eyes only for a second before he was unable to meet the stare and looked around anxiously.

The ex-soldier was expecting to be yelled at, punched, a good number of other things but Tony did none of them. Instead settling to say in a broken voice, "He was such a good kid, he just wanted to help people and I was supposed to look out for him."

They had never hugged before, the thought had never crossed Steve Roger's mind before to hug Tony Stark so why that was his first instinct he wasn't sure but it felt like the right thing to do. This time wrapping his arms around the smaller man's shoulders, tight and secure but not restraining and done in one quick and swift movement. "I'm sorry about the kid, it wasn't your fault Tony. It happened on Earth so even if he hadn't been with you he still would have...."

All fight left Tony's frame and he dropped his forehead onto Steve's chest defeated. "This is what I have nightmares about, this is why I tried to create Ultron...to prevent something like this. Everyone I care about and love dying with me being left alive to watch it." Just with that a lot of what Tony had done and said in past times clicked together for Steve, things made a great deal more sense why he'd been so adamant to make such a weapon like Ultron if this was his biggest fear. If he knew something like this was one day coming on the horizon to greet Earth.

"If we'd all been together maybe we would have had a chance to beat this, you were only trying to keep us all together with the Accords." he stated and realized, squeezing a hand a little more firmly over one of Tony's shoulders. "I feel as you do, I'm mourning all of the people I've just lost but if there's one single thing I can be grateful for right now, is that you're still here Tony."

The brunette's frame shifted at that under his touch but didn't pull away, Steven even felt the man raise a hand and touch his back in a half-assed return hug. "I know that if anyone can help me try to undo what Thanos has done, to bring him to justice, it's you. This time we need to work together, pull our forces and lead an attack Thanos won't see coming."

"Yes." Tony agreed against his chest.

"For now, for today and maybe a few after I think we should rest. You look so tired Tony." and Steve hadn't failed to notice what looked like a stab wound in Tony's stomach that had been sealed up with some technology the other man had probably invented.

Steven hadn't been to the Avenger's compound in a very long time but even in that dark moment with Tony still held tight to him, it felt like coming home.


End file.
